Zara Investigated For Sweatshops, Slave Labor Practices In Brazil

Fast fashion retailer Zara (owned by Spanish clothing retailer Inditex SA) is under investigation for slave labor practices and conditions at sweatshops in São Paulo. A number of shops were raided by government investigators, who “confiscated garments with the Zara label.” The charges go that 16 indiviuals were making $130 to $150 per month and working 12-hour days in “unhygienic” conditions. Inditex claims it’s an oversight, according to WWD:

An Inditex press release said that “in relation to information that a nonauthorized Brazilian sewing outsourcer that supplied Inditex, in which 16 irregularly employed people worked, we state that this is a grave infraction of the Inditex code of conduct, which establishes norms and requirements that protects employee rights and must be complied with by all of our suppliers. Upon being made aware of these facts, Inditex required the outsourced supplier to regularize the situation immediately. Brazil’s Labor Ministry is also regularizing their situation.”

If you’re interested in this kind of thing (hidden costs in affordable fashion), you can read more here and here.